31 July 2016

I can't quite believe it. My beautiful baby girlis now 5! She keeps telling me that means it is time for her to start kindergarten. It's crazy to think she's right!

Yet again, Calista had a couple of requests. She made a birthday present request one day while we were driving in the car. "Mom, for my birthday I want... anything you want to get me." Done, and done! She also told us previously that she wanted a birthday card, and she finally asked for a blue chocolate cake.
I am pleased to report that all of her requests were granted.

And then some...

She got lots of Legos, a basketball, and magazine subscription, and more Princess in Black books.

She was thrilled.
After presents and breakfast, we headed to Banff, where she requested we spend the day.

First up was a hike near Lake Minnewanka, to the Stewart Canyon Bridge.

The hike was fairly simple, and the kiddos mostly liked it... especially when we sang "The Ants Go Marching..."

The bridge had a nice view of the river - the water is so clear! - and was a great place to hike to.

And also, to stop for a little snack break,

Complete with juice boxes.
Then we headed back to Lake Minnewanka for a picnic lunch.

And some lakeside relaxing.

We had ham sandwiches, strawberries, and lemonade. All of Calista's favorite things.
And, of course, the kids also threw rocks into the lake.

Because it's not a proper trip to Banff without rock throwing, I suppose.

After we finished throwing rocks, we headed into town for some ice cream.

We went to Cow's, and it, true to it's name, had a cow.

Also, ice cream. It was pretty tasty.

Calista and Craig played some on the rocks on the sidewalk after ice cream, while I nursed Caleb, and then we headed to the Banff Museum. Finally, we walked back to the car, stopping for some pictures along the way.

After an uneventful drive back to Calgary, it was cake time!
The day before, Calista and Craig "helped" me make the blue chocolate cake.

Also known as chocolate cake with blue vanilla frosting.

And Calista and I had some fun taking pictures of her and her cake.

Funny thing, notice the gouge out of the side of the frosting?

Calista admitted to me that she took a little pre-birthday liberties.

Maybe she thought I wouldn't notice?

Of course, I did. But it also doesn't really matter.
The night culminated with a rendition of "Happy Birthday,"

Including Calista taking five attempts to blow out her candle, because she is five!
And then, of course, we ate cake. Yum.

28 July 2016

As he seems to do once a year, Kyler left us this last week to go to a research conference in Toronto. Which means I had four days of single-motherhood... with three kids. I was anxious about it, to say the least.

Day one: Wednesday

Technically, Kyler left the night before. We drove him to the airport, he gave the kiddos and me hugs, and then I put everyone to bed. Calista may have cried a little on the drive back from the airport.

But the first full day started with fort-building, which is mildly frustrating to attempt with two crazy children (thanks, Caleb, for deciding to nap decently this week!) and a crazy cat. But the end results were fun.

Also included on this day was me showering while all three kids were awake, without anyone crying and Caleb having a diaper blowout requiring new clothes after he'd been dressed only 30 minutes. We also played with sidewalk chalk and ate Life cereal, which we got special for while Kyler was gone.
After lunch, Calista and Craig got to go hang out with friends from church, Liam and Anna, while Caleb and I went to my last midwife appointment. Caleb weighed in at 10 lb 13 oz, and 23 inches long, which means he's gained about 3 pounds and 3 inches since birth! Yay!
Playing with friends meant Craig didn't nap... so when we got home, he crashed. At 4:40 pm.

Calista and I tried to wake him, but we were unsuccessful. He slept through dinner and us starting to watch Mulan. Finally, at 6:40, he woke up. Calista and Craig both wanted to sleep in the fort, though the word "sleep" probably belongs in quotes. Calista fell asleep around 10 PM, and I have no idea when Craig fell asleep, since he was still awake when I went to sleep.

Day two: Thursday
Calista and Craig, despite staying up late, wake up on their own around 6:30. All the better to get a jump on our day, I suppose.
After more Life, we headed to the zoo.

Which mad me a little nervous, since last zoo trip (the first one I did with all three kids), Craig ran off while I was nursing Caleb and we went home early.

Well, here goes take two! (Yay for a zoo bathroom selfie?)

Caleb in the carrier!

Happily, the kiddos were a lot better this time, perhaps because they knew I meant it when I threatened to go home.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we stopped by many of our favorite places.

Calista was really excited when I pointed out this Emerald Swallowtail butterfly to her.

And Craig got to see the komodo dragons, which are his favorite.

I like the building, too, because it has a place to rest, warm up or cool down (depending on the season), have a snack, and nurse Caleb... which I did.

While Calista and Craig played on the statues.

All in all, it was a successful zoo trip, though Craig fell asleep on the walk back to the car, then woke up when I transferred him into his seat and wouldn't go back to sleep. So no normal nap on this day, either.
Instead of napping, we got out the pool and played on the deck.

Calista and Craig had fun filling it up and getting wet...

But only if they were getting themselves wet. If their sibling got them wet instead, it was the end of the world. Oh well.

Speaking of the end of the world... I had Caleb dip his feet into the water for the first time (with Calista as the designated photographer. She didn't do too bad, did she?)

Caleb did NOT approve of the pool time. Oh well!

Craig will spray you!... if the hose is on.

Calista refused to pick up her toys and books, even after I told her she couldn't play with the Wii (which she'd been asking to do all day) unless she did. She decided she'd rather go to bed, instead, at 6:30. So they went to bed, and while they didn't fall asleep immediately, they did stay upstairs and I had some alone-ish time. (Calista did decide to clean up the next day, so she was allowed to play the Wii then.)

Day three: Friday
We started with my first post-partum zumba day!

Caleb fussed for a tiny bit, but calmed down pretty quick and I was able to do zumba the whole hour.

Except when I paused to take pictures of my adorable children.
When we got home, I fed Caleb, swaddled him, and put him down in the bassinet while I showered, and he fell asleep, and napped for almost TWO hours! Craig also got to have a more normal nap schedule, yay. While he napped, Calista begged to take the cat for a walk.

I finally consented. The cat loved laying on the sidewalk. Calista tried to convince her to walk: "Go, kitty! Move, kitty! Stop playing with your leash! MOVE!" It wasn't terribly successful...
After Craig woke up from his nap, we went to what the kids call the "slurpee park."

Can you see why? (It's actually Craig's slurpee, silly boy).

Caleb got to be outside a bit, which he seemed to enjoy despite the impending thunderstorm.
Then we headed home, and the boys got a bath.

I figure, if you measure my single motherhood success by how clean my kiddos were, I didn't do too bad.

All three of them had baths in the days Kyler was gone, and Calista even had two!

Calista also bit Craig. But that isn't as much a sign of success...

Day four: Saturday
Calista and Craig got dressed out of pj's straight into swimsuits, because it's not summer if you don't do that at least once, right? Once the swimsuits were on, we headed to the spray park.

Calista and Craig had a lot of fun, and Caleb slept a lot.

I wasn't complaining about that, though.

After lunch eaten at the spray park, we came home for Craig to have a nap.

And for me to attempt to get a picture of Caleb smiling, but not quite getting it. Still, looks cute, right?
I also set up the tent in the basement... more on that later.
Once Craig woke up from his nap, we headed to a different park.

Craig in his pajamas, because that's what he changed into when we took off the swimsuits.

And after a bit at the park (and avoiding the thunderstorm!), we headed to Dairy Queen for dinner.
Finally, it was time for movie, popcorn, and bed in the tent!

I survived until Kyler got home!

Overall, I can't really complain. Especially since Caleb picked this week to start napping in his bassinet, rather than in someone's arms. But in general, the kids were good and we had fun. I'm still always happy to have Kyler around, though. I like having a partner in parenting, especially one as good as he is.